This invention relates to a method of making an acid chloride from an aldehyde. In particular, it relates to reacting pivaldehyde with chlorine gas to make pivaloyl chloride, which can then be chlorinated to produce cloropivaloyl chloride.
Chloropivaloyl chloride (CPC) is a commercially important raw material used in making herbicides. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,312,982 and 4,770,821) teach that CPC can be prepared by chlorinating pivaloyl chloride (PC). Pivaloyl chloride is prepared from pivalic acid by reaction with either phosgene or thionyl chloride, both of which are relatively expensive.